Petizil Durand was born in Petionville, Haiti on May 22, 1971. He began painting in 1989. His father is a butcher and his mother a marchande, selling products in the market. He has a job as a security guard at night.
He assumed the name Piracasso as an homage to his idol, Pablo Picasso.
There have been hundreds of "market painters " since the master Casimir painted the archetype in the early 1960's, but Piracasso is one of only a handful who have painted the subject in an original style.